"Zoygarian is a language that reflects the culture and history of its people. Just as the nation grew and evolved, so too did the language. Zoygarian itself came into use in the Zoygarian Empire, when the Zygan, Czaszar, and Helgan cultures had fully united into one state. However, the language has much earlier origins, and a new language does not simply arrive in one day. The Rovasi Empire stretched across northern Kantrias, with Latin as its lingua franca so that all territories within it could speak and understand Rovasi's rulers. The west was and still is much more heavily Latin based, and many of those principalities and areas under Rovasi rule spoke only Latin. However, the farther you trekked from Galpoli Peninsula, the more diverse the areas became.The far east of the Empire had many more dialects and variants than those under direct Rovasi rule. The principalities were a bit larger, and were rather disconnected from the rest of the Empire. Imperial law and armies were not as prevalent in these areas, and they saw little government action aside from the occasional new spire and tax collecting. As such, these cultures began splitting apart from traditional Latin, forming their own Romance dialects. Zygan was one such, and was the direct root of modern day Zoygarian. At the time, it was much more Latin, but had several words and spellings that Latin did not. This was the case for most of the far east, prominent examples being the land that eventually became Rylolania, Akaramo, and Zoygaria. By the time the Rovasi Empire was on its last legs, the Zygan and Czaszan cultures and languages had already begun to merge. Czasza was far more Slavic than Latin, and was the primary reason why Zoygarian and other eastern languages evolved so differently. By the time the Empire fell, Zyga and Czasza had much shared culture, and their languages began adopting each other's practices.
After the merger of Zyga and Helga in 1370 into a single state, made easy by their practically identical cultures, Czasza was the next to merge in 1456. By this point, the Czaszar and Zygan languages and cultures had blended so much, that the new Zoygarian language had largely replaced old Zygan even before the first Zoygarian state was formed. With the rise of the Zoygarian Empire, the Zoygarian language we know today had become the primary language of the land. There are obviously several differences between old and current Zoygarian, but old Zoygarian was the closest to what we have today.
Zoygarian is very unique, and despite looking daunting, becomes much easier once you've learned the rules. However, with these rules come strange exceptions and little nuances that make Zoygarian what it is. For example, English speakers may note the complete absence of the x and w. This is no mistake, it's not as if the language just forgot these two letters, it's simply that it evolved beyond the need for them. In an instance where x might be used by an English speaker, ks is used in its place. Alexa becomes Aleksa, expekta becomes ekspekta, and so forth. In regards to the w, the change was much simpler. V was a relatively new letter upon its induction into the Latin Alphabet, and many languages, such as Akaramano, continued to use the w for the {v} sound. However, as Zoygarian had no {w} sound in the language and already used the v, the letter was simply kept to preserve consistency and simplicity. The letter c is also an interesting case. C was used to replicate the {ts} sound, as it had been for many years. However, to make the pronunciation simpler for foreigners who used the letter different ways, the ç character was introduced to make the {ts} sound. From then on, a plain c was only seen in conjunction with an i, making the {tʃ} sound, much like ć and cz. The letter q had a situation very similar to that of the plain c. It is only seen in conjunction with a u, and makes the {k} sound when used as such. It is not seen anywhere in the language without a u following it.
At its essence, Zoygarian is still very much a Romance language. It has rules and pronunciations that derive from the Czaszar Slavic, but it is largely Latin based. Just as other languages descended from Latin, Zoygarian features words not used in other Romance languages, and is very unique. It has been called "the most beautiful language of the east" and "silk to the ears." This is due to a near absence of harsh or guttural sounds in the language. Most everything flows off the tongue and is elegant sounding. Foreign speakers voted on what they believed to be the most beautiful word in Zoygarian, of which I shall detail the top five. The criteria were for the word to be beautiful not only in sound and pronunciation, but usage and meaning. This is what the international community came up with:
5.) Vuelta (Voo-ale-tah)
Vuelta means "return" or "to return." This word originates directly from Latin, and it is most commonly used when referring to revisiting someplace or something dear to you or of fond memory.
4.) Luna (Loo-nah)
Luna directly translates to the Zoygarian word for the Moon, but is also a female name in Zoygaria. When used as an adjective, it can be used to describe a child or newborn, typically meaning "As pure as the face of the Moon."
3.) Petczhuli (Pet-ch-hoo-lee)
Petczhuli is a Noun meaning timeless or eternity. It is an old word, one of the first to emerge from the Zygan-Czaszar culture fusion. It is very important to enunciate the 'h' sound, for it carries the essence of the word, makes it more elegant. After all, the word is not "Petczuli," it is Petczhuli.
2.) Svjaltha (Sv-yall-thah)
Svjaltha is a very old Zoygarian word, dating back to the Zygan language. The term originated and was most commonly used by Zygan knights and warriors. Svjaltha essentially translates to a fair or elegant woman. It is most commonly a noun, and a traditional complement. One of the more common usages for it is "Una svjaltha por petczhuli," meaning "Beautiful for eternity."
1.) Piala/Pyala (Pee-ahl-ah)
Literally Gift of Heaven, or Gift from the Stars. An endearing term which essentially translates to someone very fair or beautiful, or of a beautiful personality, someone so fair they could only have been a gift from above to grace this Earth. The Southwestern Zoygarian dialect replaces the 'i' in Piala with a 'y,' and both are accepted across Zoygaria, and will give the same meaning. 'Pyala' is more common, especially among English speakers overseas, but both spellings are correct."